TECH Project Bank Card Procurement Process Champion/Define Phase Date: October 1, 2014 Team members: David Shoffner

Project Selection Project A: Reduce time between requirement identification till order and the amount of time processing the request for Bank Card procurements. Project B: Reduce confusion and establish a consolidated and consistent process for On/Off-boarding staff.

Project Selection Prioritization Matrix & Ranking Project Alternatives AB CriteriaBank Card On/Off Boarding Likelihood of Success35 Time Impact (staff)41 Customer Satisfaction (person w/need)35 Employee Satisfaction (staff providing service)41 Completion in 11 weeks.45 Magnitude of Scope -volume (10,000 & 200 annual transactions) 51 Total Ranking Points2318 *Scale is 0-5 showing impact (5 being the most impact)

Project Selection: Project A Project A: Time between requirement identification and order for Bank Card Procurement Process and processing time was selected because it showed the highest impact to the organization (23 compared to 18). Another reason Project A was chosen is because of its potential impact on a large volume (10,000 annual transactions) process versus a comparatively low volume process (200). Lastly, it was chosen because Project B, after evaluating it in the prioritization matrix, was determined to be a “Just-Do-It” project because of its high impact on customer satisfaction and likelihood of success.

Project Charter Components From your project charter document: – Stakeholder list – Business Case – Problem statement – Goal Statement – Project Scope – Project Objective – Project Deliverables – Project Schedule

Stakeholder List Principle Stakeholders Champion Requestor Person with need for item to be purchased. BC Holder Person who makes the purchase Approving Official Approves purchase (3rd party) BC Program Analyst Manages BC Program & Holders Secondary Stakeholders IT Department(incl 508) Reviews request Health & Safety Reviews request Property Reviews request Budget Reviews request HR (training) Reviews request Printing Reviews request

Business Case: Time Between Requirement Identification Till Order and Processing For the Bank Card Procurement Process (under $3000), the aim of this project is to reduce the amount of time from initial request for an item (or service) and when it is ordered, along with reducing the amount of “processing time” to prepare the Purchase Request (PR). Management has identified this as an important project because the process consumes a considerable amount of labor effort annually. This effort is in support of the mission, however in a secondary manner. If less time is spent on the process of procuring items for research, more time is available to work on primary mission tasks. Additionally, there are no standards or goals that identify the time involved with the process. The consequences of not performing this project are not knowing how much time is spent on the process and labor effort will continue to be used on secondary processes, not primary mission. The primary target of this project is to reduce the time spent on BC processing. If the project is successful, the results should be increased productivity on primary mission duties and increased morale because the process is viewed as arduous.

Problem & Goal Statements Problem: The issue or problem is the amount of time required for the purchase of an item via the BC process. The time between identification of a need and the purchase of the item or service and the time spent on preparation of the purchase constitute the issue. The function of BC procurements is done by a person known as a BC Holder. This duty is collateral or secondary from their primary assignment. The impacts or “pain” of the issue are: 1) Consumes time from the stakeholders: Requestors, BC Holders and Approvers/Reviewers 2) Lowers morale because the process is time consuming and perceived as arduous 3) Lowers productivity because research is slowed or stopped when waiting for needed items and time is spent on a collateral duty, not primary duties. Goal: Reduce the amount of time from identification of need to purchase and time spent on preparation for items being acquired using the BC process so staff will have more time to work on primary duties and research activities will be delayed less. The time reduction goal is one day fewer from the identification to purchase interval and 5 minutes from the preparation of the purchase. The project is estimated to take 11 weeks.

Project Scope The process being reviewed begins when a researcher identifies a need for an item and ends when the BC holder has a completed PR and may place the order. Within the scope of this process are the steps of definitizing the item to be purchased, finding an appropriate vendor, assignment of funding, obtainment of review approvals, and final approval. Receipt of the item, record of verification, and cost allocation are not within the process being reviewed. There are no funds available to the project and the mandated computer systems will be utilized.

Project Objective The objective is to understand the amounts of time required for identifying a need to when the PR is complete and the amount of time to process the PR. When those times have been measured, reduce the ID to PR complete time by 1 day and reduce the processing time by 5 minutes. This additional time is expected to keep research moving forward more efficiently and “provide more time” to primary mission work because less is expended on processing requests.

Project Deliverables The end results (long term effects) to be delivered to those involved with the process are: 1) Reduced time from requirement identification to purchase (1 day), 2) Reduced processing time for the procurement (5 minutes), 3) Reduced delay/stop time of research projects waiting on items, 4) More time to work on primary duties for BC holders/approvers, 5) Increased morale because the process is more refined and less arduous

Project Schedule Week of Task22-Sep29-Sep6-Oct13-Oct20-Oct27-Oct3-Nov10-Nov17-Nov24-Nov1-DecMilestones DEFINE xx x Project Charter, VoC, KPOV’s, KPIV’s MEASURE xx x x Measurement Data ANALYZE xx x x ID: Barriers & Time Consuming Steps IMPROVE xx x Steps & ideas to reduce time CONTROL xx Methods & Training

Stakeholder Analysis Project Relationship Communication Strategy Stakeholder Impact By Project Can Influence Project Outcome Content/ Process Expert Controls Resources Has Decision Authority Meet Regularly Invite to Meetings Copy of Minutes No Comm. Needed Responsible for Communicat ion Champion x xxx Dave Requestor xx x Dave BC Holder xxx x Dave Approver x xx Dave BC Program Analyst x xx xx Dave IT Department x x Dave Health & Safety x*x Dave Property x*x Dave Budget x x Dave HR (training) x*x Dave * Invite as needed for specific items, then copy of minutes.

SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers) SuppliersInputsPROCESSOutputsCustomers RequestorPurchase Request (PR)ID NeedComplete PRRequestor BC Holder Receive/Generate PRBC Holder Approving OfficialPhone Call Find Vendor if No Recommendation BC Program Analyst Vendor RecommendationRoute for Approval IT DepartmentCriteria/GuidelinesRoute for Reviews Health & SafetyInformationRoute for Funding Property Place Order Budget HR (training) Printing

Voice Of Customer (VoC) Stakeholders Interviewed: BC Holders BC Program Analyst Approver Requestors Budget IT

VoC - Strengths Electronic system, NOT paper Auto routing system – select who needs to review and it automatically cycles through them Info buttons built into the form Prompts if certain types of purchases are entered Web-based- easily accessible from remote locations (work from home) and approvers in different geo areas Electronic purchase log for BC Holders One system for getting approvals Ability to enter own request, not required to send to another person Has all fields necessary for processing requests Integrated well with financial data system

VoC - Weaknesses Have to manually select the approver & reviewers even if usually the same person Funding code numbers are not sequential; more difficult to do searchers Pressing the back arrow will “lock” the PR and it will no longer be accessible; must start over the entire process. After each order function, cannot move directly to the next, takes you back to home screen Some requests come with incomplete info, requiring time to “fill the gaps” (ex: justification for a special piece of computer equipment) Does not automatically move to an alternate approver if the selected one is out of the office

VoC - Opportunities Program allow users to set defaults Feedback from users to web designers Auto forward to alternate reviewer when primary is out of office Generate spending reports Live links imbedded in system for mandatory sources, search engines List of most commonly used vendors Tickler reminders at each level if action has not been taken Response goals or time frames for approvers/reviewers (ex: 2 days or 24 hours)

VoC - Threats No mechanism or capacity to do web changes (no contract vehicle, funds, etc.) System may change in the future; less efficient version, not user friendly, no info or built-in prompts

Rough ROI Analysis Improvement of this process will benefit the organization in two ways. 1) The first is the procurement of needed items faster which will allow research to minimize delays or stoppage. The long term benefit of this is faster turnaround of research information needed by management for decision making. 2) The second is less time spent on the process or preparing the Purchase Request. With approximately 10,000 BC transactions per year, if the process can be reduced 5 minutes and the average hourly rate of a BC Holder is $50, then: (5 minutes * transactions/60 min per hr) * $50/ hr = $41,667 in “savings” Granted, the staff are already being paid so this will not realize $41k in hard savings, however it is “soft” savings in that the time can be used on core mission activities. Therefore the organization does “save” the funds.

Next Steps Complete VoC interviews Identify CTQ items Determine KPOV’s and KPIV’s from the CTQ Tree Transition into the Measure phase